A ‘flip book’ featuring two classic novels of sexual exploration, translated from the French by John Baxter: The Diary of a Chambermaidand Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess, classic erotic tales of pleasure and excess
The Diary of a Chambermaid
"I am no saint; I have known many men, and I know, by experience, all the madness, all the vileness, of which they are capable. But a man like Monsiuer?" The famous anarchist and art critic Octave Mirbeau(1848-1917) inspired not one but two films (from Jean Renoir and Louis Bunuel) with his often forgotten classic The Diary of a Chambermaid. Telling the scandalous story of Celestine R., a fisherman's daughter with a taste for men, Mirbeaureveals that "when one tears away the veils and shows them naked, people's souls give off such a pungent smell of decay."
Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess
"'Bah! The woman's a nymphomaniac.' The word came as a bolt of lightning; everything fell together, made sense, no further contradictions were possible." -from GamianiOne man, two woman, two unforgettable nights. In Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess, Frechpoet and novelist Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) allegedly reveals the sexual past of his older (former) lover, the great George Sand. Along the way, he tells a rollicking tale of debauchery.
About the Authors
Ocatve Mirbeau(1848-1917) was a French playwright, journalist, novelist, and staunch supporter of the anarchist cause in France. His work wasinfluenced by many, especially Moliere and Dostoyevsky. He was also a lover of art and was one of the earliest supporters of Van Gogh, Pissaro, and Rodin.
Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) was a French poet, playwright, and novelist. He was born in Paris to a well-off family and turned to writing after first studying to be a doctor. Influenced by Lord Byron and Shakespeare, he fraternized with many great French writers such as Victor Hugo. He died in 1857 of a heart malfunction.
